Understanding why and how chemotherapy resistance occurs is a major step toward optimizing treatments for cancer.
A team of scientists, including Markus Seeliger, PhD, of the Stony Brook Cancer Center and Renaissance School of Medicine, believe they have found a new process through which drug resistance happens. They are using a computer simulation model that is helping them understand exactly how molecules interact with the cancer drug Imatinib (known as Gleevec) in the chemotherapy-resistant process. Imatinib treats chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) highly effectively, yet many late-stage patients experience drug resistance, which renders the drug minimally effective at that stage.
The research is highlighted in a paper published in Angewandte Chemie, a top chemistry journal, and builds on previous research detailed in 2021 in PNAS. Read more.